Another Family Will Soon Have a Renovated Home in Artsakh

Papag Stepanyan, together with his family of five, lives in the Van village of Southern Kashatagh, where he resettled in 1998. All this time, the family has lived in very poor housing conditions.

This is about to change.

Papag’s children in their current home.

About 20 years ago, Papag left his native town of Yeghedgnadzor, Armenia to start a new life in Artsakh. Together with his brother and parents, he chose the Van village, where he has lived since. Now, both Papag and his brother have families of their own, and they have well settled into village life in Artsakh.

Papag’s family is rather good at agriculture. Together with his wife, they cultivate watermelons and sell the produce to neighbors.
In the beginning of the year, when we set out to start a new persimmon orchard in Van, Papag was referred to as a skilled and reliable worker. We soon hired him to take care of the new orchard. Since then, Papag has taken responsibility for all the necessary agricultural work (digging, pruning, watering, etc.).

Not long ago, we learnt about the very poor housing conditions Papag’s family lives in. When they first arrived to Artsakh, the Kashatagh regional administration provided them with an old, almost-ruined building to live in. Over the years, the family has done their best to turn this building into a home. However, the house is still far from being fit for a living, especially for a family with small children.

The current housing conditions.

As a part of our mission to resettle Artsakh’s liberated borderlands and help develop the remote villages, we provide housing support to both new re-settlers and people living here. We do this to make sure that the people of Artsakh live in dignified conditions, and to make the liberated borderlands more attractive for newcomers.

We strongly believe, that every single person who chooses to live in Artsakh and help these villages grow through hard work deserves to live in a well-built home at the very least. This is why we have decided to renovate Papag’s house and turn it into a home where his children can grow up safe and happy. The construction works have already started, and we will make sure to publish regular updates about the family.

The renovation of Papag’s house is one of the 3 housing constructions we are currently carrying out in Artsakh. We are also renovating a home for Mher Araqelyan, a wounded soldier living in the Karmir Shuka village, and Artin, a young Syrian-Armenian who has recently moved to Artsakh and started a family here.

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